Wednesday, November 20th: Ezekiel 40:28-41:26, James 4:1-17, Psalm 118:19-29, Proverbs 28:3-5 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Ezekiel 40:28-41:26, James 4:1-17, Psalm 118:19-29, Proverbs 28:3-5

James 4:¹⁷ Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

This verse is a good reminder that sin isn't just doing something wrong, it's also not doing something right.

We can sin by doing the wrong thing.
We can sin by doing the right thing for the wrong reason.
We can sin by not doing the right thing when we know we should.
We can sin unknowingly.
We can sin purposefully.

We need to take sin seriously and be proactive about killing the sin in our lives.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Ezekiel 42:1-43:27, James 5:1-20, Psalm 119:1-16, Proverbs 28:6-7

Monday, November 18th: Ezekiel 37:1-38:23, James 1:19-2:17, Psalm 117:1-2, Proverbs 28:1 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Ezekiel 37:1-38:23, James 1:19-2:17, Psalm 117:1-2, Proverbs 28:1

James 1:

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger^[a] does not produce the righteousness^[b] God desires. ²¹ So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Wow, there's a lot in there!
Quick to listen
Slow to speak
Slow to get angry
Get rid of filth and evil
Listen to God's Word
But don't just listen, do what it says

It doesn't mention it in this passage but it's always a good reminder that all of these things can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, not our own strength.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Ezekiel 39:1-40:27, James 2:18-3:18, Psalm 118:1-18, Proverbs 28:2

Wednesday, October 3rd: Isaiah 52-54, James 5 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Isaiah 52-54, James 5

James 5 

Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people,[a] who do not resist you.[b]
Our society is obsessed with wealth and all the toys that come with it.  Earning money is not a problem, it isn't even a problem to earn a lot of money. The problem comes when we look to money for happiness and fulfilment, and when money becomes our priority over our relationships with God and our families.

We should always hold our wealth with an open hand - ready for God to use as He sees fit.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Isaiah 55-57, 1 Peter 1

Tuesday, October 2: Isaiah 49-51, James 4 - Danae

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Isaiah 49-51, James 4

I love the book of James. Every part of it is so practical, so convicting, setting in me a desire to live better & honour God more.

The verse & application that really stood out to me today was verse 3

3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 

How much time do I spend in prayer? Do I only pray when I need/want something? Do I only pray to ask God to bless the plans that I have (made on my own)?

My Bible reference says it this way:

4:2-3 James mentions the most common problems in prayer: not asking, asking for the wrong things, asking for the wrong reasons. Do you talk to God at all? When you do, what do you talk about? Do you ask only to satisfy your desires? Do you seek God’s approval for what you already plan to do? Your prayers will become powerful when you allow God to change your desires so that they perfectly correspond to his will for you (1 John 3:21-22). 

Do I seek God first, asking for his direction without trying to convince him of mine.  I need to seek his will for my life, not ask him to bless my will or plans.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Isaiah 52-54, James 5

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Psalms 148-150, James 3

James 3 is all about taming the tongue, however it also says the tongue cannot be tamed, in this sense it feels as though we are trying to do something that is impossible, yet it also says, "9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." With this we may not be able to tame it all the way but we can still choose the words we say wisely by speaking the truth of God every step of our lives. We can either speak life or hurt, the choice is ours.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Isaiah 49-51, James 4

Saturday, September 29th: Psalms 147-148; James 2 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 147-148; James 2

James 2: 14 and 19 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?....

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[f] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

How do you know you can trust someone?

Basically, when you've seen that they walk the talk.  They SAY something, and then they DO what they say they will do.

Talk is cheap.  Anyone can say their sorry, but you'll only whether or not they're actually sorry by their actions.

Anyone can claim to be a believer (demons believe God is Who He says He is!, anyone can claim to have faith - but you'll only know whether or not someone is a genuine believer by their words and deeds.

Deeds don't save you.  Faith in God saves you.  Deeds prove you have saving faith.

What are your (and my!) deeds proving today?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Psalms 148-150, James 3

Friday, September 28th: Psalms 144-146; James 1 ~ Emma

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Psalms 144-146; James 1

“He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:18‬

One thing that stood out to me about this passage was that God CHOSE us. He knew we would betray Him, He knew that we would reject Him, He knew we would hate Him. Still, He chose us, and forgives us, and gives us His word to guide us.

Another thing, was that “out of all creation, we became His prized possession”. Sometimes I look at the stars, or the sunset, and I just can’t help but stand in awe of our Creator. And to think, compared to even the most beautiful of His creations, we are the ones He chose. We are His prized possessions. 

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Psalms 147-148; James 2

Thursday, November 23rd: Ezekiel 20-21; James 5 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Ezekiel 20-21; James 5

Ezekiel 20:9 But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites.
Phrases similar to this appear multiple times in our passage.  To me this is a good reminder that God chose to save me, just like He chose to save the Israelites.  And He didn't choose me because there was anything special about me.  He didn't choose me because I'm any better than anyone else.  He chose me despite me.  He chose me in order to glorify His name.

Yes, He saves us because He loves us.  But He also saves us for the sake of His name.  And I am thankful, so thankful, for His saving grace.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Ezekiel 22-23; 1 Peter 1

Wednesday, November 22nd: Ezekiel 18-19, James 4 ~ Nathan

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Ezekiel 18-19; James 4


Ezekiel 18:23
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Ezekiel 18:32
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Does God take pleasure in us sinning and turning from Him? Absolutely not! Here it says, and God shows, that He wants us to turn from our sin and follow Him. He loves us and wants us to choose to follow Him.

James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded

Again, an invitation to everyone to go to God. Clean up the sin in our lives by asking for forgiveness for it and trying our best to do better.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Ezekiel 20-21; James 5

Tuesday, November 21st: Ezekiel 16-17; James 3 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Ezekiel 16-17; James 3

James 3:9-10 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
I think we all need this reminder over and over again.  Words have the ability wound deeply.  Words also have the ability to build each other up, and to praise God.

How are we using our words?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Ezekiel 18-19; James 4

Monday, November 20th: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2 ~ Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2

 "You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."  James 2:22-24

In today's reading, James stresses the importance of our faith and our actions working together.  If we have an active faith, it should be expressed in Christian living.  In other words, a true disciple of Christ will not live in hypocrisy.  If our faith is not expressed in Christian actions, it is useless and dead.  I also appreciated how this passage tied in with the OT reading in Ezekiel 15 (Jerusalem as a useless vine).     

My next point is strictly my own thought, but here is a reason why I believe that our faith and our actions need to go hand in hand........

The Lord looks at our heart, which no one else is able to see or observe.  People on the other hand, can only hear what we say and observe us on the outside along with our actions.  I work at a store where the owner does not advertise.  So the only "advertising" we have is word of mouth from previous customers.  It will either be good or bad.......that just depends on how well the store treats its customers.  The same goes for us a Christians.  How are we advertising our faith? 

The faith Abraham had in God was equally matched with his actions, and is an example for us all.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Ezekiel 16-17; James 3

Sunday, November 19: Ezekiel 11-13; James 1 ~ Emma

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Ezekiel 11-13; James 1

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” - James‬ ‭1:17

How comforting it is to know that God never changes. He remains the same through our tough times, happy times, and all of time. It is so comforting to know that the God who holds the universe in His hands never changes. He is always good, always loving, and always knows what is best for us How great it is to serve Him.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2

Friday, November 11th: James 1-5 ~Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: James 1-5

I found reading the book of James to go quite quickly from one topic to another.  The book of James stresses the importance of an active faith, being expressed through Christian living.

There were many topics that I could have commented on, but I am choosing to comment on the topic of temptation.

"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;"  James 1:13  

Satan wants to have us question our faith by using various deceptive schemes to entice us to sin; seeds of doubt, unbelief, and rebellion.  Satan failed in his attempt in tempting Jesus while He was in the wilderness.

The Bible encourages us to resist temptation and stand firm in the faith.  God promises to help us resist temptation, and He assures us that He will not allow temptation beyond what we can endure.  

Temptation should not be confused with God's testing of our faith as a way of strengthening it.  By standing firm in the faith and resisting temptation, it will make our strength stronger, but the temptation comes from Satan, and our strength comes from God.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Galatians 1-3

Thursday, March 5th: Exodus 39-40, James 5 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 39-40; James 5

It was impossible not to notice the repeated refrain:  He made the ...... as the Lord had commanded Moses.  And then, when the work was complete exactly as the Lord had commanded, Moses set everything up, again ..... as the Lord had commanded Moses.   Moses was faithful to make sure that everything was done precisely as God had commanded.

The tabernacle shows us the holiness of God.  Yes, God's presence dwelt in the temple, but the people could not approach the sanctuary, the priests could not enter the Most Holy Place, and only the High Priest could do so only once a year.  As Rayburn said... Yahweh was near, to be sure, but there was no familiarity with him on Israel’s part. He was still, to some very significant degree, the Deus Absconditus, the hidden God...In fact, when all was done as it should have been done and the Tabernacle was assembled, the glory of the Lord descended upon it and filled it and even Moses the Lord’s faithful servant could not enter the sanctuary because of the glory of the Lord.  But, though they could not enter physically, they could in their imagination, because they knew exactly how the tabernacle was constructed and what was in it.

It is also clear that God can only be approached through sacrifice.  Our sins need to be covered by the shedding of substitute blood. Jesus, of course, is the ultimate fulfillment of the sacrifice to which all the animals sacrifices pointed.  He alone, can redeem us from sin and death.  The barbarism of the slaughter of these animals helps us realize that we cannot belittle our sin or make light of the sacrifice it took to provide us with forgiveness.

The message of God’s glory, of the tabernacle full of God’s glory, of the altar and the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place, is that God’s presence may be known in one way and one way only. The message here, in all the symbolism of this house of worship and of the worship that was offered to God in it, is that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through him. There is no presence of God without redemption, there is no fellowship with a present God without a life of obedience to him. And there can be no obedience to him except the obedience of his covenant. Men cannot invent their own laws, obey them, and expect Yahweh to be pleased.....God’s presence is found in one redemption and one redeemer, and in one covenant and one way of life.
How incredible it would have been to see God's glory fill the tabernacle!

What struck me in our James passage was how powerful prayer is, and that I need to be more purposeful about praying for those around me.  Also, the very ending of the book, and the reminder that we need to help hold our fellow believers accountable, helping to restore those who have fallen.  Yes, our relationship with Jesus is a personal one, but we need to be mindful of our corporate relationship with Him as well, and to consider the needs of others, not just ourselves.

Tomorrow we move on to Job and 1 Corinthians!

 Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Job 1-2; 1 Corinthians 1

Wednesday, March 4th: Exodus 36-38 James 4 ~ Nathan

Today's  Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 36-38; James 4

In our reading out of Exodus,  we read about how the Israelites were instructed to build the tabernacle,  as well as the Ark,  Table,  Lampstand,  Alter of Incense,  Alter of Burnt Offering,  Bronze Basin and the Court. This task was given to the Levites, and it must have been both an honor to be entrusted to do this,  as well as a little stressful.  As a homebuilder I know the importance of a blueprint - a few small miscalculations in measurements can lead to a large problem when finishing off the job sometimes.

It must have been an honour to be chosen to do this job,  and God provided all the workmen and materials needed, even an abundance as mentioned early in our reading. With the specific instructions that were given, there must have been a little pressure felt to make sure the job was done right, especially when considering who this was for and what the Tabernacle was to be used for.

In our reading out of James,  I notice it talks about our own arrogance and selfishness. It mentions this at the beginning when it talks about us wanting worldly items which leads to us sinning (verse 2).  Then the passage moves on to warn us about how we speak,  and again not to think of ourselves as above others by judging them. Finally it talks at the end about us boasting about what we're going to do,  acting like we're in control when really God is in charge.

This is both a reminder to me, and a lesson, that I need to be more humble. Everything I have is from God and everything I do is thanks to God allowing it. We're just small parts,  God is everything.

Tomorrow's  Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 39-40; James 5

Tuesday, March 3rd: Exodus 34-35, James 3 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 34-35; James 3

Doing a last minute switch and posting for Nathan today - however, I didn't have much time, so I'm recycling a previous post on this same passage....

Yesterday I posted about sin and our response to it, specifically pursuing the holiness of God so that we will develop a righteous anger towards sin resulting in experiencing God's grace, mercy and healing.

At the end of yesterday's passage Moses had asked to see God's glory and in today's passage God shows him His glory this way.....
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." (34:5-7)emphasis mine
When Moses asks for a demonstration of God's glory, God not respond with a display of His power and majesty, but rather with His love. And what an incredibly balanced definition of love - compassion, grace, faithfulness combined with justice and consequences for sin.

Sin has serious consequences and affects future generations. We need look no further than alcoholism, divorce and child abuse, rampant in our society today, to see how sadly true this is. Less obvious sins such as selfishness and greed can also be passed down. But, thankfully, we can break these generational sins through the mercy of God the Father made possible by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

The next thing that jumped out at me was the comments in my Life Application Bible about the radiant face of Moses.
Moses' face was radiant after he spent time with God. The people could clearly see God's presence in him. How often do you spend time alone with God? Although your face may not light up a room, time spent in prayer, reading the Bible, and meditating should have such an effect on your life that people will know you have been with God. (emphasis mine)
Does my life reflect the fact that I have been with God?

Chapter 35 deals once again with tabernacle construction and details. One thing that continues to jump out at me in these passages in the constant mention of special abilities and skills. God has gifted each of us with special abilities and skills that He expects us to use for His glory. Even the abilities that are not considered religious (such as construction and tapestry) we are to develop and use for the glory of the One who gifted us with them.

It reminds me of the NT parable of the talents in Luke 19, and the fact that God expects us to develop the talents He's given us. They are not really ours. They are His and have been given to us for a purpose - His glorification!

Psalm 33:3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully and shout for joy. (emphasis mine)
The talents and abilities that God has given us are not to be wasted. We can waste them by not developing them (whether the reason is laziness, not bothering to find out what our talents are) or by using them for our glory instead of God's.


Now for some new thoughts on our James passage.

What jumped out at me was how important it is for us to measure what we say.  Often we need a filter between our brain and our mouths!   Our words can do so much damage, and they cannot be unsaid.  We need to remember to use our words to build people up, not tear people down.


 Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 36-38; James 4

Monday, March 2, 2015: Exodus 31-33 & James 2

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 31-33; James 2

It's hard to imagine that after the deliverance from Egypt and all the things God had done for the Israelites that they would doubt in Him. But they did. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and that's how long it took for them to fall apart. It illustrates the need for daily continual interaction with God.

I searched up some information on the golden calf because it seems so silly for Aaron to submit so easily to the demands of the people and found this (on this website):


While Moses was up on the mountain receiving God’s laws, the people were getting anxious down on the plain. Moses spent forty days (Exodus 24:18) up on the mountain with God, and by the end of that time, the people were beginning to think Moses had died or left them. The people urged Aaron, their temporary leader, to make gods for them to follow. Since they were accustomed to having visual representations of gods, this was the natural (but sinful) result of their thinking. Aaron took their gold earrings, which they had brought from Egypt, and melted them down to make a golden idol. The idol he crafted for them was a calf, but Aaron maintained the name of the Lord in connection with it (Exodus 32:5). He was merging the pagan practices they were familiar with and the worship of the God they were just beginning to be re-acquainted with. Aaron called the people together and told them that the golden calf was the god who delivered them from Egypt. The people offered sacrifices and then engaged inpagan rituals, including orgies (Exodus 32:25) to worship this new god.

Why did Aaron do this? Scripture doesn’t give us the full answer, but we can put certain clues together and get a fairly good picture. First, the people’s long familiarity with idol worship would incline them to follow that method in the absence of clear direction otherwise. It is likely that the people had not yet received the commands against idol worship, since Moses was yet to come down with the tablets of the law. Second, they were already in the habit of merging their beliefs with those of the people around them, a practice that would continue to plague them throughout the kingdom years. Third, Aaron was faced with an unruly crowd that placed a demand on him. The solution of making an idol and calling it by God's name seemed fairly reasonable.

Why did he choose a calf/bull? His lame excuse to Moses—“It just came out of the fire like this!”Exodus 32:24)—was just a feeble attempt to dodge blame. He fashioned it with a graving tool (Exodus 32:4) and took great care to form it that way. Some have tried to show that the bull represented one of the gods of Egypt, but that doesn’t fit the text, because Aaron called a feast to the Lord (Yahweh) and said that it was the god(s) which brought them out of the land of Egypt. The bull was a symbol of strength and fertility, and the people were already familiar with bull gods from Egypt. Bulls were also typical animals of sacrifice, so to use their image as a symbol of the god being worshiped was a natural connection. Aaron’s bull was a mixture of the powerful God who delivered the people through mighty works and the pagan methods of worship that were borrowed from the people around them.
Even though there are reasonable explanations for why Aaron and the people began to worship the golden calf, those explanations do not excuse the sin. God certainly held the people accountable for their corruption (Exodus 32:7–10) and was ready to destroy them for their sin. Moses’ personal intercession on behalf of his people saved them. Moses indicated that Aaron at least should have known that his actions were sinful (Exodus 32:21) and didn’t let him off the hook. As with any other sin, the punishment is death, and the only proper response is repentance. Moses called for those who were on the Lord’s side to come stand with him (Exodus 32:26). The Levites stood with him and were commanded to go through the camp and kill anyone who persisted in the idolatry. Three thousand men were killed that day. The next day, Moses went up and confessed the people’s sins before God, asking for His forgiveness. God declared that the guilty ones would yet pay with their own deaths and be blotted out of His book. These were the same ones who, on the verge of entering the Promised Land, would deny God’s promises and be sent into the wilderness to die for their sins. Their children would be the ones to receive God’s promised blessings.

Their experiences are a lesson to us today. Even though we might justify our actions through reason or logic, if we are violating God’s clear commands, we are sinning against Him, and He will hold us accountable for those sins. God is not to be worshiped with images, because any image we make will draw more attention to the work of our hands than the God who made all things. Also, there is no way we can ever fully represent the holiness and awesomeness of God through an image. To attempt to do so will always fall short. On top of this, God is a spirit (John 4:24), and we cannot form an image of a spirit. We worship God by believing His Word, obeying it, and declaring His greatness to others


We sin. We can explain our reasons and we can try and make excuses for our behaviour, but we deserve punishment for our sin. There are consequences for sin.

Our actions indicate our response to our faith.

^{James 2:14} What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

When we sin, it is an action of defiance against our faith. Faith without works is dead. I think we can also say that faith with unrepentant sin is also dead. Sin threatens to invade our thoughts and our actions and separates us from God. Just like the Israelites struggled with idol worship, we struggle with idol worship. It may not be a golden calf but it might be the struggle of how we use our time, or what we focus on, or a handful of other sin but we are just as lost as the Israelites. It is only through repentance that we can be right with God. We demonstrate this right relationship with God through our actions that demonstrate our relationship with God and through that bring others closer to God.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 34-35; James 3

Sunday, March 1st: Exodus 29-30, James 1 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Exodus 29-30; James 1

In Exodus 29 we see the huge responsibility the priests were given for the spiritual well being of the people.  It is no different today.  Pastors and ministers have a huge responsibility to their congregation.  Obviously they cannot make choices for anybody, but they can most certainly lead them and they must do so with integrity, biblical teaching, hard work, prayer, and example. As a leader goes, so will the people.  The church needs to insist upon faithful and well-trained men to be our leaders.  More than that, we need to raise up children capable of being the types of leaders we need.  And even if we are not pastors, we also need to encourage each other in our Christian lives, and be an example to those around us.

It is important to note the placement of the altar - it is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.  We cannot come into God's presence without a sacrifice for sins being made.  Of course, the sacrifice of animals didn't actually save anyone from their sins, but it pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb, whose shed blood does cleanse us from our sin, and open up the way to relationship with God.

Chapter 30 discusses the the altar of incense.  When incense is burned it gives a pleasantly aromatic smoke, and is both an offering to God in general, and an image of prayer in particular.

A symbol can represent something that is missing, but it can be a visible manifestation of something that is present.  Incense stands for the purposeful prayers of God's people.

Rayburn:
The incense altar was made of pure gold, the very finest gold. It was glorious. The spices that were combined to make the incense were themselves the rarest and the most expensive. God deserves our best! And He deserves our best all the more when we are at prayer!

God is always accessible and He may be approached with a shout or a cry or a whisper. That is true. But there is a familiarity with God in modern evangelical prayer that does not preserve the reverence that we owe to the high God when we come into His presence and speak to Him. Have you noticed, for example, the prayers of Holy Scripture? They are full of emotion, to be sure, but they are nevertheless, prayers offered in a high register. Some of them are among the most beautiful of all the creations of human literature. They were all prayers for worship in the house of the Lord. Many of them may have originated in highly private and individual circumstances, such as David's Psalm 51, but they were, nevertheless, and are even in translation, careful and beautiful works of human utterance. They are, in a literary form, what the incense altar was in physical form: the best that could be offered to the Lord.

I remember years ago hearing Gordon Clark speak in the Covenant College chapel. He recommended that young Christians learn to pray by memorizing the Psalms. "The use of the Psalms," he said, "will eliminate all three of the [common defects of prayer]: a superabundance of petitions, crudity of language, and a lack of reverence."

It is something for all of us to think about. We find it so easy to fall into ruts in our speech to God; in our prayer. I know I do. We find it easy to speak to him with half a mind. We do not think ahead of time of what we will say, as we certainly would if we were to be given an audience with some great man, perhaps nowadays even with some celebrity. But this should not be. The speaking we do to God should be the best of which we are capable. It should be the most careful, the most deliberate, and the most reverent. Our prayer should be like that altar of gold.

The promise of all of God's Word is that time and energy we invest in the worship of God, in true and living prayer together with the saints, will always be richly repaid. He is present and the offerings we present to him, when we present them with faith and sincerity and true intention, are a pleasing aroma to him.
Our James passage reminds us that, as much as we do not like to go through trials, they bring us the deepest type of joy because they strengthen our faith and our relationship with God in a way that easy times simply cannot.  God tests His people to strengthen their character and faith, but He never tempts us to sin.

We also see that genuine faith results in living out that faith with purposeful integrity.  Our walk must match our talk in order for it to be genuine.


 Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Exodus 31-33; James 2

Monday, July 11 - Jody

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is: 2 Kings 13-14, James 5

Happy Monday y'all!

A couple of things I wanted to talk about today. First off... did anyone else notice the short length of time served by many of the kings listed in our 2 King's reading?? A lot of them served around 14-17 years, then were killed. And I loved seeing the direct leading of God in the success or demise of these leaders. Again, I was amazed at how the generations follow the same sins of the fathers with idol worship, turning from God, then enduring the wrath of God for their choices.

Secondly, I wanted to look at James 5:13-18
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
 ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

I love this passage. I love this reminder that we always need to go back to prayer. It is our lifeline, our connection to the giver of peace. I love what John MacArthur says about this passage. You can find the whole message here

In this message he points out 4 important prayer points about this passage of scripture:
1) Prayer and comfort,
2) Prayer and restoration,
3) Prayer and fellowship,
4) Prayer and power.

He goes on to say...
The relationship of prayer to comfort, the relationship of prayer to restoration, the relationship of prayer to fellowship, the relationship of prayer to power...prayer provides to the wounded warrior comfort, restoration, fellowship and power. That's the idea. Each of these is a wonderful resource to that loyal Christian who is suffering greatly in his spiritual experience.

...  It is not a passage about healing physical diseases. It is a passage about healing spiritual weakness, spiritual weariness, spiritual exhaustion, spiritual depression which calls for spiritual means, namely what? Prayer...prayer. There's no compelling reason at all in this text to think that James has dropped in here a section on physical healing. That is incongruous. What...what a strange place to drop a section on healing diseases. The passage before would never cause you to expect that. And the final two verses wouldn't cause you to expect it either. It would really be out of sinc with the context. But a section on how to help people who are spiritually weak and broken and embattled and bruised and wounded and hurt and have lost the victory, that makes sense.

I read through this message and it is truly an uplifting message on prayer. It really opened my eyes to praying through trials and persecution. I never think of my life as one that is persecuted, but I really do believe as Christians today, we face the same type of trials people did back in the time of the disciples. Our far-reaching world has more influence on us than we realize. The gods of our culture permeate our daily walk from every angle. And perhaps one of my favorite parts of Johnny's message:

It's a prayer ministry God has called us to. We're to give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word. I understand the ministry of the Word and now I understand better than I ever did the ministry of prayer. It is to come alongside the wounded warriors, the broken soldiers, the broken hearted people who are at the bottom and they don't even have the strength to call on God out of their own heart. And they need me. That's the ministry. That's the pastoral duty, to come alongside that weary Christian who is defeated without strength and on behalf of that individual, lift up prayers to God from a righteous heart.

I want to end today's post with an encouragement to all of us. We so often hide our trials from those close to us. Personally, I find it a lot easier to go alongside someone when they are struggling than to admit when I am. I often think I can handle it myself, no need to burden anyone with what I'm struggling with, "it's between God and I". I want to encourage all of us to find someone to be a prayer warrior for ourselves. A trusting, God-filled person that we offer complete transparency to come alongside in those times that we are wounded soldiers and have lost strength.

Tomorrow's passage: Jonah 1-4, Acts 15:1-21

Sunday, July 10, 2011 - Jody

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is 2 Kings 10-12, James 4

Scripture: James 4:14-15
"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that."

Observation:
What struck me about these verses is the reference to our lives as a mist. A mist that appears, then vanishes. Our lives here on earth are actually that inconsequential that they don't even qualify as a full rain, but rather just a mist.

Application:
Just last night, I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated about everything I have to organize and plan in our lives. I was frustrated that I had to keep track of meals, plans, work, the last time kids were bathed, exercise and on and on. I just wanted to give it all to someone else to do.  Reading today's passage I am reminded yet again that this life is just a mist. It will vanish. What does matter is asking the Lord how to plan my life, how to spend my time and just like verse 15 says : "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this and that". I'm focusing too much on MY life here on earth and need to remember to step back and re-examine our activities and actions and remember, it's a vanishing mist.

Prayer:
Father God, step into my life. My day-to-day exhaustion of the ordinary. Take away my plans and replace them with yours. Open my eyes to see these tasks as exactly that - tasks in my life to bring me closer to you. Remind me Holy Spirit to seek your direction in even the most trivial of plans so each and every step is aligned with your will. Amen.

Tomorrow's passage: 2 Kings 13-14, James 5